Explores the formation of the British state and national identity from 1603-1820 by examining the definitions of sovereignty and allegiance presented in treason trials. The king's person remained central to national identity and the state until republican challenges forced prosecutors in treason trials to innovate and redefine sovereign authority.

Autorentext

LISA STEFFEN is Assistant Professor of History at the University of South Carolina Spartanburg.

Zusammenfassung
Defining a British State explores the formation of the British state and national identity from 1603 through 1820 by examining the definitions of sovereignty and allegiance presented in treason trials. The king's person remained central to national identity and the state until republican challenges forced prosecutors in treason trials to innovate and redefine sovereign authority. Although jurors resisted the change, by the 1790s parliament and prosecutors accepted that treason law protected all Britons and 'the general safety of the state'.

Inhalt

Author's Note and Acknowledgements Introduction Treason, Allegiance and Sovereignty in England, 1608-1688 Dynastic Treason: National Identity after the Glorious Revolution A British Law of Treason, 1709-1783 Republican Treason and National Identity in the 1790s The 'General Safety of the State': Treason from 1816-1820 Conclusion Bibliography Index